Detailed information on the dynamics of leaf production and extension along a maize (Zea mays) shoot can improve crop model predictions.
Tag - leaf
William Salter
From stable rules to complex shapes in plant modelling
How can models capture the complexity and variation of plant phenotypes? Vidal and Andrieu have taken a look at maize.
Alun Salt
Whole-plant organisational traits and ecological strategies in sunflowers
While trait-based plant ecology attempts to use small numbers of organ-level traits to predict ecological strategies, there is a major gap between organ-level ecophysiology and plant fitness in an environmental context...
botanyone
Silica nanoparticles and structural leaf coloration
Blue iridescence is produced by both the helicoidal wall and silica nanoparticles in the helicoid.
AJ Cann
Plant names, alchemy and Alchemilla
Plant names often have an interesting history behind them: I came across Alchemilla while looking up a plant I photographed at the weekend. Thinking about the names often helps with remembering them, and also gives...
Editor Pat Heslop-Harrison
Xylem structure and passive bacterial spread
The bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, responsible for Pierce’s disease of grapevine, colonizes the xylem conduits of vines. Chatelet et al. examine the xylem structure of several varieties of grapevine, Vitis vinifera, and...
Turnover of foliar N absorbed at different times
Although nitrogen turnover within plants has been studied intensively, the fate of N absorbed at different times and particularly over winter is not completely understood. Ueda et al. trace N absorbed at different times...
